Checking Your Transmission Fluid
One of the first things that I learned about automotive care was the importance of what I like to call "preventive maintenance." This term is very general and describes a list of things that you should check periodically to ensure your car or truck is operating in the proper manner. If you happen to have a car or truck with automatic transmission (which includes most vehicles on the road these days), you should check your transmission fluid.
Materials Needed:
- Transmission fluid (Check owners manual for vehicle specific fluid)
- Funnel
- Owners manual/Repair manual
- Cloths
Turn your engine on and allow it to warm up by letting it run for about 15 minutes. Then turn it off.
Steps:
- Locate. Pop the engine hood on your vehicle and locate the ATF dipstick. It should be located near the back of your engine, but look in either a repair manual or the owner's manual for the specific location. It should look similar to the engine oil dipstick, only smaller.
- Check. Remove the dipstick from its sheath and wipe it clean. The stick may be fairly long and the fluid can stain so be careful as you are removing the stick that you don't splash anything on yourself. After you have wiped the dipstick clean, reinsert it all the way into the sheath and then once again remove it. Look near the tip, and you should see two markings that indicate where the full line is at. One is for hot readings, and the other is for cold.
- Fill. If it is necessary, add some of the appropriate transmission fluid to your vehicle by using a funnel and pouring the fluid through the same location that the dipstick was located. When doing this, only add a little at a time so that you can check periodically to see what the current level is at. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as necessary.
- Clean. Clean up any mess and replace the dipstick.
Author Bio
Lee Wyatt
Contributor of numerous Tips.Net articles, Lee Wyatt is quickly becoming a regular "Jack of all trades." He is currently an independent contractor specializing in writing and editing. Contact him today for all of your writing and editing needs! Click here to contact. Learn more about Lee...
Homemade Sprinkler System
Making a homemade sprinkler system is not only easy, it is also a great way to save some money. After all, why spend a ...
Discover More
Teaching Children about Checking Accounts
It should be the goal of any good parent to teach their children how to survive and thrive in the world, and that ...
Discover More
Repairing Thatchy Lawn
Other than watering issues, a thatch filled lawn is perhaps one of the more common problems a home gardener can find ...
Discover More
Servicing Your Transmission
Servicing your transmission, otherwise known as changing the transmission filter, is a simple task, although it can be a ...
Discover More
Checking Your Oil
One of the necessities of vehicle maintenance is checking your oil. When you don't perform this task regularly, you are ...
Discover More
What Is a Power Flush?
Sometimes when a person hears a term that they don't understand from their mechanic, like "power flush," they are too ...
Discover More
Comments